ARTIST NOTES

“14 The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”” Exodus 14:14, NIV.

Here's an interpretation of the parting of the Red Sea. In my heart it's a glaring example of how God makes a way, provides in his timing, and does infinitely more than we can do for his glory and our good. It's a mysterious interlacing of his sovereignty and our personal responsibility.​​Listen to the sermon HERE.

Week 10 5/1/2016

Title of drawing: "A Nation's Choice" (Exodus 3-13)

Artist thoughts:

I had a lot of options for this week's drawing: the burning bush, ten plagues, or the Passover. Whether the first images we think of belong to the movie industry or Sunday school curriculum, today's study of scripture is full of imagery we may already have mental images for. This was a tribe on the verge of becoming a nation. Here is my humble attempt to shed some light on what could be considered their first collective catalytic decision toward freedom. God gave instructions for each household in the entire community of Israel to publicly slaughter a year old male sheep or goat and paint it's blood on the two posts and lintel of the houses where they eat them. Obedience was a public declaration of Israel's choice to follow the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob instead of the gods of Egypt. This would've been offensive to the people of Egypt because one of their gods, Khnum, who they believed was responsible for the birth of children was represented as a human body with the head of a ram. For hundreds of thousands of people to publicly slaughter the image of one of Egypt's gods at twilight prior to God killing the first born son and male livestock throughout Egypt would not have gone unnoticed. After witnessing the first nine plagues this was Israel's opportunity to profess allegiance with the God of their ancestors and it required faith that God would save them because it would certainly have sealed their fate with the Egyptians. With this drawing I'm trying to imagine the hesitant or anxious feeling that may have accompanied this choice. Would anyone come out of their homes during what must have been a horrible noise of thousands of animals being slaughtered? Wouldn't you be watching your back for any retaliations? With the rest of the story in mind I rejoice in this morning's key point.

Because of the Lord's faithful lovewe do not perish, for His mercies never end. They are new every morning;great is Your faithfulness! (Lamentations 3:22-23, HCSB)

Biblical hope is not wishful thinking. Wishful thinking has no power to bring anything to pass. It's not dependable. Biblical hope's referent is God and God can not lie as we are told in Numbers 23:19,

"God is not a man who lies, or a son of man who changes His mind. Does He speak and not act, or promise and not fulfill?"

Joseph's crazy life of finding himself wronged or forgotten in almost every circumstance YET still "doing the next right thing and doing it well" as pointed out in this mornings sermon points to a heart and mind that has a hope grounded in the assurance that the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a good God and will fulfill his promises.

This morning's drawing is a layered depiction of Joseph's life. Wearing the headpiece and golden necklace of an Egyptian Vizier and wearing Pharaoh's signet ring represents the position of power God placed him in to provide for Jacob's family. The shackles and chains represent his time in prison but unlocked bearing the names of his brothers also represents Joseph's offer of forgiveness to those who meant to harm him. Lastly, the stars, moon, and sun reference Joseph's God-given dream foreshadowing his role in the Pharaoh's court.

I'm so thankful God keeps his promises. He is bigger than my plans, my attitude, and my choices. It is my pleasure to proclaim that I am not God. My way is not always the best way. I can, have, and still do make mistakes, yet God can and does still use me. I wonder how many opportunities God gives us every day to join with him and his plans to make life-giving, grace-filled choices. With the transforming power of the Holy Spirit encouraging eternity and God's grace as our point of view it is possible to make the right choice.

God swore by himself that his covenant would stand. Abounding in grace and mercy, God doesn't let our weaknesses, selfishness, and pride ultimately destroy his plans. He uses the ordinary and does the extraordinary. Through Jacob's family comes key biblical characters like Joseph, Moses, and David but God, fulfilling his covenant through Jacob, chooses Leah, an ordinary woman over shadowed by her sister's beauty, to give birth to Judah whose future offspring lead to our Savior and King, Jesus.

Trusting God with our relationships and our possessions is huge. It seems like the story of Abraham and Isaac doesn't make sense without Jesus and by itself it doesn't make sense as a reflection of God's character. Thankfully it doesn't exist as an island but it exists in the context of God's relationship with Abraham, Abraham's belief in what God says, God's 100% commitment to Abraham for future generations and his redemptive plan for the world, Abraham's impatience in God's provision to provide in a time of famine, to protect him and his wife in a strange land, and to miraculously provide the firstborn son through Sarah his wife. Within this context Abraham's faith was being put to the test when he was asked to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. This makes me think of Jacob told confess his name when demanding a blessing as he wrestled the angel. Remember he had lied earlier when he posed as his brother to steal a blessing. Or when Peter denied Christ three times and then, post resurrection, Jesus asked Peter if he loved him three times. Or Paul who persecuted and imprisoned Christians then found himself persecuted and imprisoned after choosing to follow Christ and proclaim the good news. I see a trend. I have struggled with the story a lot. I even took offense to the idea that God may have somehow been condoning child sacrifice but that would be dismissive of the end of the story. God doesn't condone child sacrifice he spares Isaac and provides in a different way. Ultimately not sparing himself in order to fulfill his covenant with Abraham. We can rejoice because God is faithful. We can rejoice because God is almighty and all-powerful. We can rejoice because he loves us and he provides for us through his son Jesus Christ. I have chosen to portray the moment after the usual picture we all get in our minds eye of Abraham raising the knife with tears in his eyes choosing to trust God and sleigh his son. This image focuses on the relief of God's provision and the benefit of trusting God even when circumstances seem tragic.

I've attempted to draw the Abrahamic Covenant. Abraham is asleep at the bottom of the composition and stars flood the sky above foretelling the family of God. God did not let Abraham walk through the sacrificed animals but took it upon himself to bear the full responsibility and walk through it alone. It doesn't take much to convince me of my sinful crumminess, but it can be easy to forget when pride and selfishness sacrifice essentials for pacifying trophies of success. Reminders of our sinfulness are healthy and humbling. There isn't any lack of examples in the bible and it's empirically verifiable in our culture. What constantly shocks me more than my sinfulness is God's never ending love and overwhelming grace. Ultimately God's grace for us is made manifest in Jesus Christ but the Abrahamic Covenant has reminded me of God's grace in spite of us, God's grace choosing us, and God's grace working through us. Reminders of God's grace inspire, create, encourage, empower, and model a new way to live life. ​Our sin separates us from God but God's grace (His initiative NOT ours) separates us from our sin and delivers us into God's desire for us. We have access to a relationship with him because God's love for us is greater than us. God doesn't wait on anything good or righteous that we can do. God takes the initiative over and above and through our dysfunction. God supplies his own righteousness in Christ and we find ourselves on the receiving end of an incredible love. What an incredible gift to receive!

When we rely too much on what we are good at and not on the fact that God is the author and designer of our talents and abilities we glorify ourselves and relieve God from the very solemn responsibility of directing our lives. Pride is the fuel to a self-destructive lie. In Genesis 9:1 God's people were told to "Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth." Instead, because they were such talented collaborators, they chose to stay together and collectively build a name for themselves; not a name that glorifies God. Their pride overshadowed the importance of God and his will; his commands and his plans. They chose success in a thing rather than worship of the living God. This "look what I can do" mentality became more powerful than asking God, "what should I do". God knows that we will all grow weary with the pleasure of things BUT when we find pleasure in the Creator we will enjoy an inexhaustible novelty in him and his ways. Proverbs 16:9 says, "In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps." God dispersed them by confusing their language but later he would gather all nations through the manipulation of languages at Pentecost. Let's not spend our time here on earth doing something God has not called us to do.

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to You, Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.​Psalm 19:14, HCSB

Week 4 2/28/2016Title of drawing: "The grief of God: A new beginning" (Genesis 7:1-24)

Artist thoughts:

Try to imagine the final moments before and after God shut the door to the ark.Water's rising and people recognizing Noah's many years spent constructing an ark as a means of survival for the first time. God closes the door and there is a deafening sound of fists banging and voices yelling for the only way that leads to life to be reopened. The way we live our life matters. Decisions have consequences. Faithfulness isn't always easy. Noah and his family must have struggled hearing plea after plea for life on the other side of that door.

We are created to have a relationship with God. Sin breaks that relationship. Getting what we want will become meaningless and miserable when what we want does not line up with what God wants. This drawing gives witness to the loss of our deepest need. Although Adam and Eve were made in God's image they do not reflect His majesty here. Maybe they reflect the pain of the cross. God's absence and their grief form this drawing as I try to imagine what it must have been like to hear the consequences of that terrible decision. I have tried to depict that moment between God explaining the consequences of their actions and God making clothes for Adam and Eve. I wonder how long it took and if they witnessed the sacrifice of animals to provide them clothing. Distraught and distant from God, Adam and Eve appear as if they are stuck wondering what will happen next. Separated from God. Emotionally separated from each other. How does one anticipate what God does next? Having to leave the garden must have been so scary.

God breathed life into creation. He spoke and everything came into being. He called it good. By the time he decided to rest things were perfect. Perfect because everything was in the right relationship to him. Conceptually, I probably could have drawn almost anything this Sunday and it would have been applicable due to the fact that I was bringing an image into existence on a piece of paper. However, I chose to draw a plant. A plant because we are to be stewards of God's creation. We get to participate in the care of God's creation. There is a directional flow from the bottom of the drawing springing up to the top. This was a very physical drawing requiring lots of push and pull with the charcoal. My intention with that physicality was to bring in energy and a movement to capture the idea of becoming. God is life-giving. His plan and prescription for us is to enjoy and glorify him. His prescription will generate life, beauty, and praise. Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Here is my humble attempt to portray the Trinity as "The Author of Creation". Three halos are present: one on the Father's arm, one behind the head of the Son, and one on the top of the pen representing the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Jesus wears a wedding band foreshadowing his role as groom to the church, the "bride of Christ". The open box represents the open system of Christian theism illustrating God moving outside and inside of time and space versus the closed box of naturalism leaving no room for the supernatural.

Artist StatementThe Emmaus road series is a year long collaboration between Ken Webb, the pastor of Christ's Fellowship Church (Valdosta, Georgia), me, and the one in whom we place our faith and hope, the God of all creation. Through the act of drawing, one drawing per week for forty-four weeks, I have sought to bring a form of visual communication that would buttress the pastors heart felt intentions as he delivers a sermon every Sunday morning. I am invited to give a quick artist statement for each piece at the conclusion of each Sunday morning service to summarize my thoughts and intentions for each creation. Each drawing is created live in tandem with the delivery of the sermon, approximately 45 minutes.

I find myself so much more connected and in tune with each Sunday morning gathering because of the amount of study and preparation that goes into each drawing per week. It gives me the honest opportunity to ponder the story and scripture for each sermon, picture what it may have been like, and pray about what I'm to do with the resulting opportunity to edify the body of Christ. We live in an increasingly visual culture full of signs and symbols encouraging quick assumptions that simplify and deliver decontextualized instruction for living. Ravi Zacharias would describe this as giving rational thought to a subject without a predicate. As a culture we may not truly know how to see due to our expectation for immediate gratification. The appreciation of life through the creation of a simple drawing can slow us down giving more time to recognize what we see. The appreciation of art and its process can help us truly live or experience more of what it means to be human. I feel more connected to God after these drawings are finished. Concerning our perceptions and understanding of the world, G. K. Chesterton explains that, "God is like the sun; you cannot look at it, but without it you cannot look at anything else." Because of this series of work I feel like I can see better both physically and spiritually. I definitely see all 66 books of the Bible as intimately connected.

PROCESS

I receive a rough draft of Pastor Ken's sermon on Tuesday or Wednesday of each week. I read the sermon, the children's Bible lesson according to the Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones, and the scripture passages that both of these are based upon. Next, I begin to ponder, listen, and imagine the authors' thoughts, the commentary, the story, and seek the heart of how this all applies to me, to us who believe, to the human condition/To what it means to be human. Usually a picture or phrase begins to resonate in my heart and mind. I follow that reverberation, share it with my wife and close friends. The idea clarifies itself and solidifies with a short written statement for each drawing. I seek approval of that statement with the pastor before each service. Finally, I get absorbed in the process of drawing during the Sunday gathering at my church. As Ken preaches, I draw. Together we seek to present our hearts and scripture to the glory of God.